The New York Mills rumor mill has been hard at work over the past few months. I have had several calls and have heard from some of my coworkers all kinds of stories about what may or may not be happening with this newspaper.

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I am writing this column to set some of those rumors to rest.

I want the people of New York Mills to understand the following: You are important to us, and we have been doing everything we can to continue full coverage.

However, the newspaper business model isn't simply about subscription and newsstand sales. Advertising revenue is what allows the newspaper to provide coverage. Advertising pays the salaries, the print and utility bills, and the vast majority of the delivery expense.

Simply put, as businesses in New York Mills have gone by the wayside, or cut their advertising budgets, we have had to look at cutting our coverage.

A couple of weeks ago, I had a conversation with one of your city councilmen. He had heard that we were planning on changing the name of the paper (true) and that we were no longer going to be covering New York Mills (false). Our plan has never been to completely discontinue coverage of New York Mills. We believe we have figured out a way to continue covering school board, city council and cultural center events, as well as some sporting events.

As always, we encourage people to send in their photos and story ideas and will run those as space allows.

Changing the name? Yes, that is a change we are planning on making, and the name change will reflect the main community we cover.

But because we value the history of the New York Mills Herald in the Mills community, we continue to explore options that make sense, both for the community and for our bottom line.

Keep checking the paper for more details on upcoming changes. As we take our time, to ensure that the decision we make is informed and is the best possible outcome for all, I will keep you posted.

In the meantime, should you have questions or comments, please feel free to email me at mswenson@eotfocus.com or give me a call at 346-5900.